Avoid making poor financial decisions and your life will be so much less stressful! This is what goes through my mind when I see people walking in and out of PayDay Loan outlets. Payday lenders like to view themselves as financial services companies that promote themselves as 'putting people first'. I find this extremely puzzling [...]
I am continually searching for attractively valued high-quality companies in which I can invest. In August 2018, I delved into the historical financial results and earnings guidance of CME Group Inc. (CME). Based on my analysis I came to the realization that CME Group is a unique dividend gem and disclosed that I would be [...]
I do not know when it will happen. I just know it will happen. That is why we must prepare for a stock market correction. I have only been an equity investor since the late 1980s so I certainly do not have the experience and expertise of the world’s super investors. I have, however, witnessed [...]
This is my FFJ Portfolio - March 2021 Report. The portfolio was created in January 2017 to demonstrate how investing in high-quality companies with competitive advantages can assist investors in reaching their long-term financial goals without the need to speculate or chase dividend yield. FFJ Portfolio Realignment I wrote several articles during the month but [...]
In my Margin is a Double-Edged Sword and Investing Using Margin Debt Leaves You Vulnerable articles, I touched upon the risks of employing the use of margin debt for investment purposes. Margin investing is the practice of borrowing money from a brokerage firm to make investments. Traders tap this to increase buying power and then [...]
Life teaches us what is not taught in school. I learned very quickly that inflation erodes the value of money and that your investment strategy should account for inflation's impact! I vividly recollect some things and then there are other things about which I have no recollection. For example, a former co-worker retired a few [...]
In my recent Two Questions I Ask Before Investing Money post I touched upon the Return versus Risk aspect of an investment. I followed up that article with my Buying Stocks When Valuations Are High where I discussed three possible approaches to investing; I indicated the Valuation approach is my preferred method. Sometimes, however, you [...]
Several existing holdings, or companies on my watch-list, are trading at forward-adjusted diluted PE levels above the upper-20s. These companies with lofty valuations, however, have hundreds of thousands and millions of shares trading hands daily. This has me wondering what type of investors are buying stocks when valuations are high. Before I delve into this, [...]
In my recent The Secret to Making Money – Positive Cash Flow article I indicated the simple secret to making money is positive cash flow. In this article, I lay out the two questions I ask before investing money. These questions are: Will this investment generate a level of return commensurate with its level of [...]
Most people complicate the process to generate wealth when the simple secret to making money is positive cash flow. The secret to generating positive cash flow is the extent to which you pull two levers. Lever 1 - Increase your total cash inflow (income) Lever 2 - Decrease your total cash outflow (expenses). It is [...]